In the introduction to his small volume, Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics, scholar Stephen Greenblatt examines not just the tyrants that Shakespeare wrote about in his plays but the nature of tyranny itself and how people succumb to those who would rule as tyrants while promising something quite different. Clearly a book for our times.
Tyranny, or autocracy as we call it in our age, cannot arise without the complicity of the people, who abandon their ideals, even their own self-interest. Shakespeare’s plays, argues Greenblatt, examine the nature of power, how it develops into something we no longer recognize as reflecting who we are.
Chief among tyrants are Richard III and Macbeth, who succumb to power’s temptations as they destroy all semblance of legitimacy. Richard’s twisted body becomes a twisted mind of absolutism, and Macbeth’s encounter with the witches results in not just in the murder of Duncan but the murder of decency and legitimate authority. Clearly tales for our time as we remember Shakespeare on this his birthday.
Prayer for the Day
In humility we acknowledge our frailty and fears,
For we have not acted against the violence around us;
More concerned with our comfort than with truth,
We shrug our shoulders, believing we have no power.
Forgive our desire to live in a bubble,
And help us to live the vision of your peace on earth,
In the name of the One who is our model,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The institutions of a free society are designed to ward off those who would govern not for their country but for themselves, who take account not of the public interest but of their own pleasure.
George Buchanan, Scottish humanist philosopher (1506-1582)
I do but dream of sovereignty/like one who stands on a promontory/and spies a far-off shore where he would tread/wishing his foot were equal with his eye/and chides the sea that sunders him from thence/saying he’ll lade it dry to have his way.
Richard III in Henry VI. 3.2.134-139
Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast us off forever!
Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
For we sink down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground.
Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
Psalm 44: 23-26